A small Layla, a tall Layla give highlight plays on Saturday

One is a 6-foot-5-inch, imposing post who can step outside the key and play like a ball-handling guard if needed. The other is seemingly half that size, but feisty enough to leave her duties on the perimeter and battle it out inside if needed.

Wasilla Warriors center Layla Hays and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears point guard Layla Tokuoka showed just what competitive high school girls basketball is all about on Saturday inside the George Houston Gymnasium as Tokuoka was among the leaders in steals and assists, and Hays would lead in blocks, rebounds and points.

Yet both first noted that their teammates are the reason they excel.

“Encouragement from my team,” Tokuoka said of where her hard-nosed inspiration comes from. “They are always pushing me to get better and getting out of my comfort zone…They are there to fight to the end and they are there to play basketball.”

Wasilla would earn a 46-30 win in an athletic game featuring the home team Crimson Bears seeking redemption for the previous nights 65-34 loss. The state’s top-ranked Warriors were looking to cement their Alaska ranking.

“They know how to feed it and they know how to finish their shots,” Hays said of her Wasilla teammates. “So even if the teams are double-teaming me, I am very confident that they are able to finish.”

Hays would step outside the key and put the ball on the floor or set a high screen and roll to the hoop throughout Saturday’s game.

“I feel like it has always been something I have tried to work on,” Hays said. “I mean, I love the paint, that is always going to be my favorite place, but my coach does a really good job of being able to move me especially when there is double- or triple-teams so moving me out gives space for everyone else.”

Tokuoka would cause a Wasilla turnover in the first minute of action and JDHS junior Gwen Nizich followed a missed shot for the first two points of the game, and Wasilla’s Hays would set a screen outside and roll to the basket where she rebounded a missed shot for a score.

JDHS would take their second and last lead of the game as senior Kerra Baxter was freed by screens by Tokuoka and junior Cambry Lockhart, and floated out to the three-point arc where she hit a shot for a 5-2 lead.

Wasilla would go on a 10-0 run to end the first quarter with a blocked shot by Hays and four JDHS turnovers resulting in three scores by junior Savannah Kroon, two rebounds and a score by Hays, and a fast break basket by Kroon as the quarter ended.

Hays would assist on a basket inside by Wasilla junior Claire Bredberg to start the second half, and Tokuoka would feed Nizich who drove to the basket and followed up her own miss for a score to trail 14-7.

Wasilla’s Kroon would be the recipient of an outlet pass off a rebound by Hays for a basket, and after the Warriors forced a JDHS turnover Wasilla senior Mylee Anderson fed Hays inside for a drop-step basket and an 18-7 lead.

JDHS’ Tokuoka drove Wasilla defender Anderson down into the paint and was fouled on a scoring basket to trail 18-9. Tokuoka hit the free throw to close to 18-9 with half a quarter remaining.

“I think our players are confident with Layla when she has the ball,” JDHS coach Tanya Nizich said. “They are confident when she decides to make that decision to drive in. And hands down, she is probably one of the best passers on our team if not the best passer on our team. She is always keeping her eyes up. Overall, even on defense she is looking for those quick little steals and setting her man up, so when that ball comes she can be right there for a steal and down-the-court layup. Overall I think our teammates, you can see them out there, they are a little relaxed when she has the ball because everybody is in a good place because she will make good decisions.”

Wasilla dictated some bad decisions by the Crimson Bears, and three JDHS turnovers resulted in three straight scores by Kroon, Anderson and Bredberg, and Anderson hit a free throw with 12 seconds left for a 25-10 lead going into halftime.

JDHS senior Cailynn Baxter and Wasilla’s Hays would exchange baskets to start the second half, and Nizich hit two free throws to trail 27-14.

Hays would gather two rebounds, but Wasilla could not capitalize as JDHS’ Tokuoka, Nizich and Lockhart forced errant passes by the Warriors.

Hays rebounded a missed JDHS shot and followed her outlet pass upcourt to be rewarded with a scoring shot and a 29-14 lead.

JDHS’ K. Baxter hit her second shot past the arc to trail 29-17 with half the quarter to play.

Wasilla junior Katie Jackson scored on a pass out from the paint by Hays, and Anderson scored off a JDHS turnover for a 38-17 lead with under two minutes remaining in the stanza.

JDHS senior Addison Wilson hit from past the arc, and Tokuoka and C. Baxter upped the defensive pressure, with Baxter getting a steal and score to trail 38-22.

Hays floated up from the paint with 40 seconds left in the third quarter and passed in to senior Kendra Boling for a 35-22 lead. JDHS’ C. Baxter answered with a score to cut the lead back to 35-24 as the quarter ended.

“I just think Layla (Hays) has more confidence in her teammates,” Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said. “They worked on their shooting and hitting down shots so when they can hit shots, then the defense has to go out and guard them. They are more of a threat outside than we probably were last year. So it just opens it up inside and she just has more confidence in them. They have confidence in her. We just try to become, and make sure, we are an all-around basketball team and not just one dimensional.”

JDHS coach Nizich also noted that “with all the artillery that they have on their team it probably takes a lot of weight off Layla’s (Hays’) shoulders. They always see where she is on the court, they are looking for her to post but at the same token Layla trusts them to be there outside for shots. They work well together.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Hebert-Truax about Tokuoka saying Tokuoka “has the confidence of her teammates and is fearless because of it.”

JDHS’ K. Baxter hit a free throw to open the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 10 points for the final time, 35-25.

Wasilla’s Hays responded with a rebound put back that went in and she was fouled, hitting the free throw to take a 38-25 lead.

Wasilla’s Anderson stole a ball and scored and Hays found another shot inside to give the Warriors a 42-25 lead.

JDHS’ C. Baxter worked inside and was fouled, hitting both free throws and Wilson would hit inside to trail 42-29 with five minutes left to play.

Both teams slowed the pace and forced defensive turnovers until Wasilla’s Anderson had a steal for a layup and Jackson hit a short jumper for the Warriors’ final scoring at 46.

JDHS’ K. Baxter would be fouled and hit one free throw with eight seconds let to give the Crimson Bears their 30th point.

While not one minute of the game was easy for Wasilla they showed why they are the defending state champions and JDHS discovered what is needed to climb the last steps on the Alaska ranking ladder.

“We were pleased that we were able to keep a team like this under 50,” coach Nizich said. “I feel like I always say this but putting the two halves together, like taking yesterday’s second half and today’s second half…for instance yesterday’s second half, it was a three-point ball game and today’s second half was a one-point ball game if you erase the score. And that is huge. And that is after being tired and playing those first-half minutes. So finding a way to be able to make those stops and being able to get those steals and less turnovers right off the bat versus having it hurt us early on in the game would just be a huge step against a team like this.”

K. Baxter and C. Baxter led JDHS with eight points apiece, G. Nizich added six points, Wilson five and Tokuoka three.

The Crimson Bears hit 7-11 at the charity stripe, the Warriors 2-3.

Hays led Wasilla with a game-high 17 points, Anderson added 11, Kroon 10, Jackson four, Boling and Bredberg two apiece.

The Warriors have now won 20 games in a row dating to the end of last season and are 15-0 this season and sitting atop the Northern Lights Conference.

JDHS falls to 12-5 overall. The Crimson Bears are 2-0 in the Southeast Conference and host conference rival Ketchikan (5-12 overall, 0-2 SEC) next weekend. The Crimson Bears defeated the Lady Kings 58-27 and 67-28 in mid-January at Kayhi.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.